The Closing Saloks, Savaiye in Praise of Guru Amar Das (the bard Keerat)
A boat wide enough to carry everyone across together.
The Arc
A single verse that first traces the lineage — Nanak gathering the True Name, Lehnaa becoming Angad, Amar Das the home of hope — then names the Teacher as a boat the Creator built to carry all his generations and the whole Sangat across. It closes with an honest cry for sanctuary.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The boat (bohith) is the central image: salvation that is collective, not solitary. The closing traahi traahi is the posture of ardaas — open-handed asking, not self-condemnation.
Translation Notes
The plea “save me, I seek your sanctuary” is read as honest empty-handedness and trust, never self-abasement.
The lineage lines carry the doctrine of the one light passed through the Gurus.
A boat wide enough to carry everyone across together.
The Arc
A single verse that first traces the lineage — Nanak gathering the True Name, Lehnaa becoming Angad, Amar Das the home of hope — then names the Teacher as a boat the Creator built to carry all his generations and the whole Sangat across. It closes with an honest cry for sanctuary.
Themes and Cross-Connections
The boat (bohith) is the central image: salvation that is collective, not solitary. The closing traahi traahi is the posture of ardaas — open-handed asking, not self-condemnation.
Translation Notes